What Does It Mean To Stand Tall, and Stay Free In The Face Of Adversity?

This is referring to the capabilities to handle adversity, and move through efficiently. This is important because in life we will all face adversity, the question is how will we handle it. How we handle it will determine the trajectory of our lives. We can use it to shape us, or destroy us.

Principles

1. Head up high

This is about knowing that your enough, and capable of moving through. No matte what you face, you can make it through it. You have already survived everything up to this point, so how is this any different?

2. Believe in yourself

No matter what, it’s important to believe in yourself. The power of self belief can’t be stopped. Everyone can believe in you, or not believe in you, but the question is do you believe in you?

3. Trust the process, don’t rush the process

understand that there’s always a process to things. So often we want to rush or bypass it, not understanding that through struggle comes strength. Know that your enough, and keep persisting.

Tools

1. Meditation

Think of meditation as brain training. Being able to stay focused throughout the day in a world of distractions is invaluable. Meditation can reduce cortisol, which is your bodies main stress hormone. There are many different forms of mediation, but the most common type is mindfulness. Simply sit quietly where you won’t be disturbed, and observe your thoughts. Do not judge them, just notice them. Being aware of your thought can help you change them, and even still the mind. The more relaxed we are, the more energy we will have for healing the body.

2. Breathing

Mouth breathing activates the barrel reflux in the chest, activating the sympathetic nervous system because you only can breathe shallow. When breathing through the nose, you have many structures that the air passes through in order to get filtered, and go to the lungs. When breathing through the nose, your able to get the air much deeper in the lungs, where the receptors activate relaxation. Nose breathing produces six times more nitric oxide than breathing through the mouth. Nitric oxide has been proven to protect from viruses.

3. Purpose

Purpose is what wakes you up everyday with enthusiasm and direction. It gives you a foundation on how to build your life. The thing about purpose, is that it’s not always great, it will give you a lot of challenges as well. I believe the foundation of everyones purpose is growth and service, but how everyone expresses that is going to be different. Your purpose can also change overtime, but not the foundation. I used to believe that it had to be tied in with your career, but not necessarily. Perhaps now, it’s to be the best parent you can be, and maybe in a few years it will be something else.

Tactics

1. No retreat, no surrender

If you have a goal that you know in your heart is your, you must go for it. There will always be challenges that come up, but we must persevere. Obstacles are just opportunities to find out what to do differently. Failure is feedback, don’t change the goal, adjust the approach. The only time to change your goal is if it’s no longer in alignment with you, or it’s common sense to do so. In this case it is not quitting, it’s just making an intelligent decision that will set you up for future success.

2. Steady breathing

No matter what situation you find yourself in, it’s important to be rooted in a vision and a mission. Stand for the truth and what is real. Doing this will ensure a successful outcome. Believe in yourself and stay the course.

3. North star

Stay focused on the most important thing. Do not be distracted by all the minor things. This will ensure defeat. Always press forward, and stay true to the mission. Believe in your north star, and things will work out.